Tie-rod for railroad-rails.



H HERDEN. TIE BOD FOR RAILROAD RAILS APPLICATION I'ILED-$EPT..5,1907.

Patented Dec. 1,.1908.

WITNESSES W A ITOHNE Y 8 1n: NORRIS FE'I'IRS cm, WASHINGTON, n. c

HENRY HERDEN, OF WELLSBORO, PENNSYLVANIA.

TIE-ROD FOR RAILROAD-RAILS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 1, 1908.

Application filed September 5, 1907. Serial No. 391,462.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, HENRY HERDEN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of VVellsboro, in the county of Tioga and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved Tie-Rod for Railroad-Rails, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

In the construction of railroads, it is essential that means be provided for preventing the rails from spreading apart or moving toward each other, and thus lose their parallelism. Tie rods have been employed for preserving the gage 'or space between track rails, these rods in some constructions having shoes on their ends, which embrace thebase flanges of the track rails. Such tie rods are very inconvenient to place and remove; they are also expensive to manufacture. Other tie rods employed are threaded on their ends, which are inserted through opposite perforations in the webs of the track rails, and are secured thereto by nuts placed on the rods. The nuts on the last-mentioned tie rods frequently become loose, owing to jars the track rails are subjected to and allow said rails to spread apart or creep toward each other, so as to depart from proper gage. Wooden cross ties are principally used in the construction of railroads, and to prevent undue wear thereon, chairs or tie plates are provided, these, in sufiicient number, being seated upon the cross ties at intervals and thereto secured by spikes or the like, providing metal bases whereon the track rails are laid and secured by other spikes that pass through perforations in the tie plates' The purpose of this invention is to provide a very simple and effective tie rod having novel features, which adapt it for quick application or removal, as occasion may require, and that will, when employed in sufficient number, secure track rails upon the cross ties, clamp the tie plates thereon, and prevent the track rails from shifting laterally.

The invention consists in the novel construction of a tie rod, and its combination with track rails and tie plates, as is hereinafter described and defined in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure l is a partly sectional side view showlng the improved tie rod applied, for holding track rails seated upon tie plates on a cross tie, and clamped thereon so as to prevent the rails from changing their positions; Fig. '2 is a plan view of the same; and Fig. 3 is a detached perspective view of the improved tie rod.

In the drawings 5 represents the body of the improved tie rod, it consisting of a straight metallic bar that may be angular in cross section, as indicated, or be round or oval. Preferably the rod is rectangular considered transversely, and is of such a relative length as. will adapt it for service as willbehereinafter described.

Thereis a straight member 6 integrally formed upon each end portion of the tie rod body 5, and extended therefrom at a ri ht angle, which members are projected para lel with each other at the same side of the tie rod, are preferably quadrangular in cross section and of equal size, each bein tapered somewhat near the free end thereo as at ,a, to permit free penetration of. a cross tie when driven thereinto.

The extremities of the tie rod 5 are each preferably flattened to form a head thereon, such as5, and as a pears in Figs. 1 and 3, these heads project from the ends of the rod, so as to produce overhanging flanges, the use of which will presently be explained.

The cross tie 7, shown to exemplify the application of the improvement, is of wood and such as is ordinarily employed in the formation of a road bed when wood is the support of track rails such as 8, which form a railroad.

In carrying into effect the application of the improved tie rod 5, as an entirety, two tie plates 9 are furnished for each tie rod. The tie plates may be simply fiat metallic slabs having proper area, and rectangular marginal form, as represented, or have any other preferred construction that will permit thair cooperative use as adjuncts for the tie ro As usual the tie plates 9 are seated upon the cross tie 7 at proper points that permit the pair of tie plates to serve as metal bases for the track rails 8, said rails having the usual base flanges 8 thereon that project laterally and oppositely from the webs of the rails.

Each tie plate is perforated for reception of spikes 10 of the ordinary shape, and while one spike might serve to hold the tie plate at the edge that is nearest the end of the cross tie, it is frequently of advantage to employ two spikes that are driven down through spaced holes in the tie plate, into the cross tie adjacent to the edges of the outer base flange 8, so that the spike heads will bear thereon, as shown in the drawings.

At or near the transverse center of each tie plate a hole Z) is formed, which holes are close to the edge of the base flange 8 on a corresponding track rail 8. In applying the tie rod, each depending member 6 thereon is inserted in the perforation 6 formed for its accommodation in the tie plate near the inner edge thereof. Each member 6 is now driven down into the cross tie until the head 5 on a respective end of the tie rod bears upon the flange 8 of the track rail that is adjacent thereto.

It will be seen that there is a positive metallic connection afforded between the base flanges 8 of the track rails 8 that is composed of the tie rod 5, its members 6 and the tie plates .9, and the latter being held at their outer edges by the spikes 10, which bear with their heads upon said base flanges, become tie rod extensions that hold the track rails spaced apart and prevent inward or outward displacement of the same. The members 6 of the tie rod 5 virtually constitute hooks that, by engagement with the perforations in the tie plates, as well as their penetration in the cross tie, eifect a positive lock against lateral movement of the rails.

The improved tie rod is particularly advantageous for use at curves on a railroad, as the weight of rolling stock imposed upon the inner rail at a curve, and the tie rod as connected with the other tie plate, will hold the outer tie plate from change in position when the outer rail is subjected to pressure from car wheels.

The improvement may be applied upon a new track or an old one, and be removed with ordinary tools used in track construction or repairs.

It will be seen that when laying new track, the improved tie rods and the co-acting tie plates serve as a track gage, and dispense with the use of the track gage usually employed.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A tie rod, comprising an elongated metal body portion, a flattened flange at each end thereof, and a depending hook-like member projecting from the body of the rod at each end and parallel with each other.

2. In combination, a tie rod having a fiattened flange at each end thereof, an integral straight hook member projected from the tie body. at each end away from the flange thereon and parallel with each other, and two tie plates, each having a perforation for reception of a respective hook member.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a tie rod for railroadtrack construction, compriss ing an elongated metallic body portion angular in cross section, a flattened flange formed on each end thereof, and two integral members in spike form angular in cross section and tapered at their free ends, each of said members projecting at a right angle from the tie rod body adjacent to a respective flanged end thereon.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HENRY HERDEN.

Witnesses:

E. A. CRAvA'rH, H. R. DOWNS. 

